


"I lost the kid"

by fictionart



Series: Irondad Bingo [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Endgame, Gen, Most characters are only mentioned, Peter is only mentioned, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-07 15:31:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18413513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionart/pseuds/fictionart
Summary: Tony comes back to Earth, shaken and far from healthy.Written for Iron Dad Bingo - Trope: Endgame Speculation.





	"I lost the kid"

Steve, Natasha, Thor, Rocket, Bruce, Rhodey, and Carol Danvers were walking out onto the grass of the compound. It was dark out, and they had had a long and taxing day. They were beginning to find hope in finding Thanos, taking back the stones and using them to bring back the dusted, but they still didn’t know how to do it, or if it would even work. 

They had also met Carol Danvers that day, and while Rhodey and Bruce seemed to be wary of her, Steve, Rocket, and Thor seemed to like her. Natasha was still doing some analysis on her, but do to the influx of emotion she had been experiencing as of late, her super-spy abilities of judging character quickly were working slowly.

The sky had just began to turn dark when the Avengers decided to call it a night, but it seemed that they day was not quite ready to let them sleep just yet.

An alien ship was descending on their lawn.

Rocket told them that it was the same model as his ship - which he had called the Milano - but he seemed certain that this ship wasn’t his.

Their questions were answered when after the ship landed, the bay doors opened to reveal a familiar face - though the Tony Stark that was on this ship was not the Tony Stark that Steve remembered before they parted ways.

He was painfully thin, his eyes bloodshot, exhausted, and sad were beginning to look an alarming shade of yellow.

“Tones,” Rhodey called out, rushing forward to help support him, easing the tension on the shoulders of an extremely unfamiliar face.

“Nebula,” Rocket ground out. “That no good spawn of a shriveled purple-”

“Rocket Raccoon,” the blue alien responded, “a pleasure as always.”

“Where are my friends,” the raccoon demanded.

“Gone,” Nebula said, her voice sounding heavy. “Rocket, I’m so sorry-”

“All of them?” Rocket’s voice cracked. “No, not... not all of them, I can’t... I can’t be the only one.”

Thor’s face crumbled as he looked down at his furry friend, remembering not to long ago how he had expressed his sorrows of losing his entire family on an escape pod on their way to Nidavellir.

No one had noticed Nat leave to come back with a frazzled and tired-looking Pepper Potts. 

“Tony!” She cried out, running towards him. At the sound of her voice Tony looked up, showing the first sign of recognition since he had landed.

Rhodey carefully handed Tony over to the CEO of Stark Industries. Pepper was holding him, and Tony’s arms moved slowly to hug her back - still weak, but everyone could tell how worried he had been about her.

Then, in a voice croaky from illness, starvation, oxygen deprivation, and misuse, Tony choked out a sparse sentence: “I lost the kid.”

Pepper pulled back from the hug and looked him in the eyes, moving her arms up to cradle his face. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry,” Tony choked back a sob, “I know how much he meant to you,”

The others exchanged confused glances - except for Nebula who looked on with sad eyes.

“Tony,” Steve started, “who did you lose?”

“Steve,” Natasha warned

“We need to get him to the med bay,” Bruce piped up, “He’s not looking too good.”

“Thanos stabbed him through the stomach,” Nebula said as a means of agreement, “he could use some medical attention.”

The kid Tony mentioned remained unknown to the rest of the Avengers for the rest of the night, and a good long time afterward.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr @fictionart24


End file.
